


The Weight of the World Upon Your Shoulders

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Comfort, Gen, Protective Siblings, reassurance, worried Mist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 04:03:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19165447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Ike was strong, and Mist knew this as well as anyone. But he was just as human as anyone else, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it.





	The Weight of the World Upon Your Shoulders

Somehow, despite wearing her usual small yellow dress with a thin cloak and nothing covering her legs, Mist wasn't cold. A little chilly, maybe, but Mist had never been one to feel the cold so easily. Ike and the others always joked that she was "so full of sunshine that the cold doesn't stand a chance", which she always laughed off but now she wondered if it was true.

She certainly hadn't _felt_ so full of sunshine on several occasions. The war was terrible, she'd seen so many of her comrades hurt and watched her best friend turn from a sweet little boy into a hardened killer, learned things about the world that she never would have if she'd never insisted on joining Ike...no, it wasn't always easy to smile throughout everything. But she tried nonetheless.

"We're almost there," Ike said. "Mist, are you getting tired?"

"Hm? No, I'm fine! Are _you_ all right, though? You've been working harder than ever now that you're general of the entire army, plus you had to deal with Shinon a while ago-"

"I can handle Shinon," Ike said. "He won't say it, but I think he's glad to be back." He smiled. "Don't worry about me, Mist. I'm not the same nervous rookie I was back when I inherited the company."

"Well...if you're sure." Ike had a habit of pretending he was fine when he really wasn't, especially when times were hard. "But if things ever get too much for you, just come to me." Something had happened last night, she knew from the way he'd come back to camp looking completely out of it. Soren had gone to see him, but if Ike had told Soren anything she didn't know. "I-I'm your sister, so...just talk to me, if you need to."

"Sure, Mist." He didn't seem to take her offer seriously, much to her annoyance.

"I mean it," she said. "We're family, and family's always there for each other! I know I couldn't help you when Dad died, but-"

"Mist," he interrupted. "No matter how much things have changed I'm still the big brother. I'm the one who's supposed to protect you, got it?"

" _Ike!_ "

"I mean it. Not just you, but Princess Elincia, Rhys, Titania, Soren, Prince Reyson..." He closed his eyes. "I couldn't help Father because I wasn't strong enough before, and I'll never make that mistake again." And suddenly Mist understood. Ike had been there that night, she remembered him coming back with Father over his shoulder, begging him to hold on just a bit more. It was the closest she'd ever seen him come to outright crying.

_Ike is more vulnerable than most people would ever think._

She flung her arms around him, leaning her cheek against his armor and rubbing his back.

"You'll _always_ be strong enough. But that doesn't mean you're not human! You have feelings and if you're ever hurt or upset, the people who love you want to be there for you! And you need to _let_ them!" He felt stiff in her arms for a moment, then relaxed, returning her embrace and petting the back of her head.

"Am I really that bad?"

"Yeah, you are. Did you even talk to Soren when he went to find you the other night?" she asked.

"So that's what this is about." He sighed. "Look, Mist...something _did_ happen, but I didn't tell Soren yet. It's still...now's not the time to talk about it, okay? And I'd rather you didn't know at all, but I'll have to tell you sooner or later, and better sooner than later. I'll talk about it when I feel ready, okay?"

"Well...all right. But that better be a promise, and no putting it off till we're old and creaky!" she demanded. That got a small laugh out of him, and he ruffled her hair.

"It'll be long before that," he said. "And...I'll try to be more open with you from now on. You're my only sister and I never want us to grow apart." Mist smiled against his chest, tightening her arms.

"That's all I ask."


End file.
